Companies House Service (CHS)

CHS makes all of our public data held on companies available free of charge. Free access to the data is available both through a web service and application program interface (API), enabling both consumers and technology providers to access real time updates on companies.

Unlike our other services, you can view company information on the new service without having to register to use it.

Follow

Follow is a part of our free Companies House Service (CHS) which lets you receive email alerts of company transactions. The alert tells you instantly what’s been filed with us as soon as it’s been accepted.

The email will contain a link to the filing history of the company where you’ll be able to download a copy of the document for free.

WebCHeck fees

You can add documents to your shopping basket up to an order limit of £50.

Before you make a purchase you’ll need to register a password and email address. We can then let you know your documents are ready to access. Documents will be available in your download area for viewing or saving for 10 days, or for 4 days once opened.

Mobile app

Save and sort your favourites to help you file on time

You can store your most frequent company searches as favourites, then sort them by due filing date for accounts or confirmation statement. An amber icon lets you know a document is due to be filed soon, while a red icon lets you know its overdue. A notification icon lets you know how many companies need attention.

Statistics on incorporations and dissolutions

The statistics feature provides incorporation and dissolution figures over a date range defined by you, with charts and bar graphs so you can see when peaks occur.

application for a trading certificate for a public limited company (form SH50)

reduction of share capital by either Solvency Statement (form SH19) or by Court Order

Same-day registration services at our London office

All same-day applications must be delivered to the London office, correctly completed and including the appropriate fee by 3pm for the application to be processed that day. Applications received between 3pm and 5pm will processed the next working day at the London office, but any received after 5pm will be forwarded with all other mail to the Cardiff office for processing.

We suggest you enclose a telephone number with all applications so staff can make contact regarding collections or rejections. All certificates can be posted upon request.

The London office can only satisfy same-day registrations for companies or partnerships registered in England and Wales.

Delivery of documents to all offices

Only the Cardiff office is open 24 hours a day for the receipt of documents.

Our offices in Belfast, Edinburgh and London have opening hours between 9am to 5pm. Letterbox facilities exist in London and Edinburgh, but not in Belfast.

If you are sending documents by post, courier or Britdoc (DX) and would like a receipt, Companies House will provide an acknowledgement with a date of receipt, if you enclose a copy of your covering letter with a pre-paid addressed return envelope.

Contact centre

Our contact centre can take orders for company information, which they’ll send by post or email. Payment can be made by cheque if you order by post, or by card or account if you’re ordering over the telephone.

The staff at our contact centre are able to deal with most general queries on matters relating to Companies House and the services we provide. They’ll normally be able to answer straight away, but if they can’t, they’ll transfer you to someone who can.

Certified copies and certificates

The following types of certified copies and certificates are available:

A certificate of incorporation with certified facts

A certified copy of a document held on the register

Additional facts which can be included on an incorporation certificate

Due to changes brought in by the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act, you can’t order certificates with information on shareholders, shareholdings or statement of capital.

On request the following details can be included as certified facts:

Directors names and details, such as date of birth or nationality

Secretaries names

Registered office address

The company’s objects

Good standing statement

The good standing wording says that a company has been in continuous, unbroken existence since its incorporation and that no action is currently being taken to strike the company off the register.

We’ll only issue a good standing statement if the company is up to date with its filings. It also has to be a private limited company with at least one director who is a natural person or a public limited company with a secretary and at least 2 directors (one of which is a natural person).

Certificate orders are issued by post (Recorded Delivery) or you can ask to collect your certificate from one of our offices.

We can provide a fax copy or email a PDF copy of the official certificate on request. This service is only available on same day requests. Fax or email copies won’t be signed. Only the official certified certificate will be signed.

Companies House isn’t responsible for any costs incurred after you’ve received your order (such as courier or legalisation costs).

To get a Companies House document legalised by the FCO, it must have the original signature of a British public official. To get a document signed in person by one of our officials, you’ll need to request a certified certificate or certified copy.

DVD directory

Our DVD directory contains basic company details on all 3 million live companies registered in the UK, along with companies that have become dissolved in the last month.

The DVD has a built in search facility that allows up to 6 combinations of searches on:

company name

company number

registered office address lines

postcode

date of incorporation or range of dates

SIC code(s) or description

company type

company status

accounts type.

The directory is produced monthly and a one off copy costs £30, or a year’s subscription for £300 - copies are available from our information centres and contact centre on (0)303 1234 500.

XML gateway search service

Our XML gateway offers access to Companies House data and documents as a computer to computer search service.

Data and documents are requested and delivered using XML (eXtensible Markup Language). This will allow users of the service to search company records from within their own software.

Standard XML data schemas must be used as defined in the interface specification which can be found on our dedicated XML gateway output page..

Users must carry out a test to confirm they can request and receive data before an XML output account can be opened.

There is a £4.70 monthly subscription fee, plus additional charges for data or documents requested. Users get %15 off their total monthly invoice value. Basic company information is available for free.

Register for WebFiling

You’ll need to register a password and email address, then request an authentication code for your company - which is sent to your company’s registered office by post, so allow plenty of time for delivery.

withdraw register of secretaries’ information from the central register

Full audited accounts can’t be filed using WebFiling.

Charities should seek advice from the Charities Commission to find out if the accounts type you intend to file with Companies House will be acceptable to them. The Charities Commission require a full audited set of accounts and you may need to file the same at Companies House.

LLP forms you can file using WebFiling

LL AD01

change of registered office address of an LLP

LL AP01

appointment of member of an LLP

LL AP02

appointment of corporate member of an LLP

LL CH01

change of details of a member of an LLP

LL CH02

change of details of a corporate member of an LLP

LL CS01

confirmation statement (£13 charge)

LL TM01

termination of appointment of member of an LLP

LL AD02

notification of the single alternative inspection location (SAIL) of an LLP

LL AD03

change of location of the records to the single alternative inspection location (SAIL) of an LLP

LL AD04

change of location of the records to the registered office of an LLP

LL AA01

change of accounting reference date of an LLP

LL DS02

withdrawal of application to strike off

LL MR01

particulars of a charge created by an LLP

LL MR02

particulars of a charge subject to which property or undertaking has been acquired by an LLP

LL MR04

statement of satisfaction in full or in part of a charge by an LLP

LL MR05

statement that part or the whole of the property charged (a) has been released from the charge (b) no longer forms part of the LLP’s property

LL PSC01

notice of individual person with significant control (PSC)

LL PSC02

notice of relevant legal entity with significant control

LL PSC03

notice of other registrable person with significant control

LL PSC04

notice of change of details for PSC

LL PSC05

notice of change of details for relevant legal entity with significant control

LL PSC06

notice of change of details of other registrable person with significant control

Extractives service

The extractives filing service is designed to help undertakings meet their obligations to deliver reports to the registrar as set out in The Reports on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014. Reports can only be delivered to the registrar electronically, under regulation 14(3) of the 2014 Regulations. Reports cannot be delivered by paper.

Companies House requires that this is done through the preparation of an XML file using the extractive reports schema provided by Companies House.

Use the extractives service for:

filing your report

searching company reports

viewing a company’s filing history

downloading company reports

The service is available 24/7 for the submission and searching of information. Any submissions which require manual inspection will only be processed during our normal working hours.

Register for the extractives service

You’ll need to register a password and email address, then request an authentication code for your company - which is sent to your company’s registered office by post, so allow plenty of time for delivery.

Software filing

Our software filing service enables the submission and acknowledgement of electronic company data between presenters and Companies House via our XML Gateway.

The service is open to everyone but will mostly benefit those who file frequently - on a daily or weekly basis. The more documents you file, the more appropriate software filing is likely to be.

Opening an online filing account

You will need to open an online filing account if you want to use software to file information. Once opened, the presenter information you need to use the service will be sent to you by post. If you open a credit account, any filing fees will be itemised on the monthly statement you receive.

You can choose to pay by variable direct debit. You can also sign up to use our online eBilling service to access your invoices quicker.

Developing your own software

To develop your own software, you will need to have expertise in eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

Same day registration service

For a premium fee the Registrar will, where possible, fast track the processing of certain documents and register them on the day of receipt - certificates are despatched or available for collection on the same day.

All documents and fees should be delivered to the appropriate Companies House office by 3pm (Monday to Friday), and presented in an envelope that is clearly marked ‘Same day service’ - best written in the top left hand corner.

If the item is being sent by courier, make sure the courier’s envelope is also clearly marked ‘Same day service’.

Private fund limited partnership (LP) incorporation fees

Designation of a limited partnership as a private fund limited partnership at a time after the limited partnership has been registered.

£10

Scottish qualifying partnership fees

Scottish qualifying partnership only

Paper

For the registration of a Scottish qualifying partnership under the Scottish Partnership Regulations

Registration of a Scottish qualifying partnership

£20

Registration of all relevant documents in respect of a Scottish qualifying partnership delivered during a relevant period on the registration of a confirmation statement

£17

Scottish limited partnership fees

Scottish limited partnership only

Paper

Registration of all relevant documents in respect of a Scottish limited partnership delivered during a relevant period on the registration of a confirmation statement delivered under the Scottish Partnership PSC Regulations

£17

Scottish partnership fees

Application for protection

Paper

Making an application under Regulations 48,49 or 50 of the Scottish Partnership PSC Regulations requiring the registrar to refrain from disclosing secure information in relation to the applicant to an individual to whom the application applies

£100

Making an application by a specified public authority under Regulation 42(2) of the Scottish Partnership PSC regulations for the registrar to determine whether to disclose URA information to that authority

£54

Making an application by a specified public authority under Regulation 1087B (2) of the Companies Act modified by Regulation 63 of the Scottish Partnership PSC regulations for the registrar to determine whether to disclose restricted DOB information to that authority

£54

Extractives filing service fees

Extractives filing service

Online

Registration of a report on payments to governments

£250

WebCHeck search fees

Online service which offers company information as on-screen data and image downloads.

Try our free beta service to search companies - all data and document images are free

Not all fees are set by the above regulations, some fees are administratively set by a Fees Determination
(PDF, 348KB, 24 pages)
under section 1063(5) of the Companies Act 2006. These include fees for new products, products that are in decline and products that have a small customer base.

The registration fees above do not apply to documents delivered under the Companies Act 1985 or the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

Any document delivered to the Registrar of Companies under the Companies Act 1985 or the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 will be free of charge.

Any changes in fees or any new fees will be shown here.

Cost recovery principles

As a Trading Fund Companies House must operate on the basis of cost recovery. It has a statutory duty to break even over time and to achieve an average annual return (surplus) of 3.5%.

Companies House fees are linked, as required by European Law and HM Treasury guidance, to the forecast cost of providing each service and the way in which customers access them. A number of things are considered when Companies House sets its fees.

Guidance on Managing Public Money requires fees to be set to recover the full cost for each separate service allowing for a cost of capital of 3.5% - this prohibits cross-subsidy between different services.

The EC Capital Taxes Directive allows company registration costs to be met from fees, but prohibits charges that are effectively taxes. This means that prices cannot be set above costs for the relevant services.

eBilling service

How eBilling works

Instead of receiving your monthly invoice by post, an online version of your invoice is added to your eBilling portal. Companies House will send you an email notifying you when your latest invoice is available.

You can manage your account and contact details from within the service.

Register for eBilling

Always use lower case for your email address when logging into your account, even if you used upper case when registering.

You can find the email address used to register for eBilling on any billing invoice email we’ve sent you.

Unlocking your account

If your account is locked, contact enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk with your 8 digit account number - you’ll find this in the subject line of previous emails we’ve sent you (it’ll start with either 002, 005 or 006).

Your account will be unlocked within 24 hours. You can attempt to log in to your account after this time.

Welsh service

Companies House has a service for Welsh companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) who prefer to use the Welsh language when conducting business with us.

All customers are welcome to communicate with Companies House in Welsh. Those companies and LLPs who wish to receive bilingual correspondence will have to register for our Welsh Service.

To register for this service, please send an email or write to the address below stating the company name and number along with your full name and in what capacity you act for the company.

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